Before I started reading The Teaching Gap, I anticipated that the differences between Japanese, German, and American schools would be in the structure of the schools and in how students behaved. I assumed that Japanese and German schools would be much more strict and regulated than American schools. To some degree this is true, especially for the Japanese students who are required to wear special uniforms and bow to their teachers before class begins. So far, this book focuses on the differences between Japanese, German, and American schools, particularly in how teachers in each country teach. The author makes it clear that Japanese and German students are far beyond American students in terms of education, with Japanese students being the most advanced. The main goal of this book is to examine how teaching affects learning in order to improve education. Chapter 3 points out the major differences between each country’s teaching style and gives each a slogan: German Teaching – Developing Advanced Procedures, Japanese Teaching – Structured Problem Solving, and American Teaching – Learning Terms and Practicing Procedures. The chapter continues on to give examples of lessons in each country. The author brings up many similarities and differences between each of the schools. First of all, Japanese and German schools are similar in their approach to student-centered education. Both of these school systems give students some guidance, but ask students to come up with their own proofs or problems, instead of feeding them knowledge and asking them to remember it, as they identify as the primary form of teaching in America. American and German schools are similar in their emphasis on homework. Homework is assigned nearly every night in both school systems, and a large portion of the lesson each day is devoted to going over homework assignments in depth. Japanese schools often do not assign homework, and they begin each lesson by reviewing the previous day’s lesson and then jumping right into the next topic. Even though this book examines math teachers from Japan, Germany, and the United States, a lot of the information and findings can apply to science. It has been made clear in the early chapters of this book that American students are falling behind German and Japanese students when it comes to education. The author has also made a valid argument that a partial cause of this could be how American teachers are teaching students. At the very least, science teachers can read about how teachers in Germany and Japan teach and try to take some of those ideas and apply them to their teaching.
So far, this book focuses on the differences between Japanese, German, and American schools, particularly in how teachers in each country teach. The author makes it clear that Japanese and German students are far beyond American students in terms of education, with Japanese students being the most advanced. The main goal of this book is to examine how teaching affects learning in order to improve education. Chapter 3 points out the major differences between each country’s teaching style and gives each a slogan: German Teaching – Developing Advanced Procedures, Japanese Teaching – Structured Problem Solving, and American Teaching – Learning Terms and Practicing Procedures. The chapter continues on to give examples of lessons in each country.
The author brings up many similarities and differences between each of the schools. First of all, Japanese and German schools are similar in their approach to student-centered education. Both of these school systems give students some guidance, but ask students to come up with their own proofs or problems, instead of feeding them knowledge and asking them to remember it, as they identify as the primary form of teaching in America. American and German schools are similar in their emphasis on homework. Homework is assigned nearly every night in both school systems, and a large portion of the lesson each day is devoted to going over homework assignments in depth. Japanese schools often do not assign homework, and they begin each lesson by reviewing the previous day’s lesson and then jumping right into the next topic.
Even though this book examines math teachers from Japan, Germany, and the United States, a lot of the information and findings can apply to science. It has been made clear in the early chapters of this book that American students are falling behind German and Japanese students when it comes to education. The author has also made a valid argument that a partial cause of this could be how American teachers are teaching students. At the very least, science teachers can read about how teachers in Germany and Japan teach and try to take some of those ideas and apply them to their teaching.